Effect of Replacing Cotton Seed Cake with Poultry Droppings on Weight Gain of Growing Cattle at Bambui, Cameroon

摘要

To investigate the effect of replacing cotton seed cake by poultry droppings in the diet of cattle, 30 animals were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments in a 2×3 factorial design, sex×treatments. The three treatments consisted of replacing 0%, 25% and 50% (T0, T25, T50 respectively) of the crude protein in 500 g of cotton seed cake with an equivalent amount of protein in poultry droppings. The concentrate offered was 615 g in T0, 652.5 g in T25 and 690 g in T50 per animal per day. After an adaptation period of 14 days, followed by 65 days of the experiment, the intake of concentrate and the average daily weight gains were recorded. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the concentrate intake or average daily weight gain of bulls subjected to the three treatments. However, heifers tended to grow more slowly on T50 compared to T0 (p<0.05), though the difference in their intake of concentrate was not significant (p>0.05). Although T50 (47% inclusion in total concentrate), was less palatable, it seemed to have increased forage intake from pasture. These results suggest that poultry droppings can effectively substitute cotton seed cake in the diets of suckler cattle.